Five Frugal Things

My friend Lise and I went to check out a new salvage shop, a store now deemed to be “where scratched up Teflon pans go to die.” It was yuuuge, so I had high hopes, but there wasn’t even a single item that caught my eye. Afterwards we checked in on her father’s apartment so she could bring in his mail and borrow a suitcase. I tore a Halloween candy coupon from his junk mail that I can double at Safeway. We treated ourselves to lunch afterwards at a locally owned restaurant.

My friend was about to dump some wrinkly peppers into her compost, but I swooped in to save them. I’ve since sautéed her yellow pepper with an onion to top refried beans and stashed the rest in the refrigerator.

I thrifted a new garbage can for our bathroom and then sold our old one, I sold my thrifted Bob Mackie scarf, I sold a big bag of vintage handmade Barbie doll clothes and I’m arranging sales of a few other items. I also worked two days and jumped through a couple of annoying RN competency hoops that allow me to keep my job. The amount of continuing education that RNs are required to do is no small task. I’ll attend a mandatory class about how to self-edit my time card in a few days. (Don’t be jealous of my glamorous life of used garbage cans and time card inservices!)

I got rid of a few random kitchen tools, some dress pants, a sweater and a blouse through my local Buy Nothing group, I bought a like-new board game and a vintage shoe polisher to resell, I mostly puttered around the house, (doing nothing is very cheap) I listened to free Dave Ramsey podcasts during a long dull drive and I’ve yet to turn on the furnace despite chilly weather. (Layers, people. Layers!)

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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(1) Finally went to DH’s chiropractor Friday to get the throbbing hamstring behind my left knee checked out. Chiro got rid of the hamstring pain all right, but now the front of that knee hurts. (At least Chiro keeps his prices and his expectations of what can be achieved reasonable–he did warn me that relief might not be immediate–so I’m still counting this as an FT.)

(2) I continue to run no errands that aren’t absolutely necessary, thus keeping spending opportunities to a minimum.

(3) I also continue to play Evening at the Improv in the kitchen, aided by the continuing garden produce from a warmer-than-usual autumn. I concocted what I’m calling “Season’s End Succotash” yesterday, from two ears of elderly Regional Market sweet corn, a few leftover Regional Market green onions, a few late tomatoes and bell peppers from the garden, and odds and ends of green beans and okra and basil from the garden. Mind-blowingly delicious!

(4) I try to make breakfast muffins regularly for DH, since he’s more likely to take his a.m. meds without prompting if there are muffins to go with them. 🙂 Last batch, I chopped up a very elderly/mealy apple to go into the muffins, and did my best to resuscitate the apple chunks by adding the juice of half a lemon to them. Wild applause from DH, so I’m going to repeat the process this afternoon.

(5) And DH has been carrying the wet laundry up two flights so I can continue to hang it on our drying racks as usual. Whatever else may be happening to him, it hasn’t affected the fundamental sweetness of his personality.

I love using up wrinkly apples, usually in an apple crisp or apple pie….which draws wild applause from my hubby.:-)
I hope your leg pain ultimately resolves…and yay for your sweet hubby helping out around the house.

I have reviewed clothes for the upcoming colder weather and determined I need only two fresh tops. Not in any hurry to get those so I can look for the best choice.

Bought a 50 cent pop tart kit so I can make gluten free pop tarts of granddaughter. Wish me luck here as the gluten free crust is a challenging deal. Bought a $1 new scrabble game to use for sending scrabble tile texts to grands. It can be used to play scrabble too — just have to look at the tile list and grab those for the games.

Had some non frugal needs in the last months– battery for car and replacement laptop. Yikes.

1) I’ve been home all weekend, so far. I decided to thaw a whole chicken I’d bought at Aldi last month and put it in the crockpot overnight. It should fall off the bone later today and I can make soup or a casserole for dinner.
2) I have a credit card I’m trying to pay off and my Credit Union offered a good deal to transfer the balance to one of their Mastercards for a 3.99% interest rate for one year. That’s much lower than the card I owe on, so I can get it paid off this year and do away with that debt. Lesson learned.
3) I picked up and audiobook I had on hold and decided to start reading a book series Goodreads suggested in their October email. It’s the Lumby series by Gail Fraser. I started book one on Thursday and I’ve been reading it over the weekend. So far I love it! I plan to pick up the next one in the series at the Library, when I go in next week to return Jan Karon’s latest Mitford book I’ve been listening to on audio CD.
4) I went to a work event on Wednesday and received a free tote and cell phone charger for showing up. I don’t need either one, so I plan to take them along with some thermoses/water bottles I need to get rid of and donate them to our local shelter.
5) We had one last piece of supreme pizza in the fridge, after eating left over pizza and salad for dinner last night. So I scraped off the topping, chopped it up and added it to our scrambled eggs this morning. I can feed the pizza breading to our farm dog with his dinner. Always trying to think outside the box, when it comes to uneaten leftovers.

My FFT:
1.The only souvenirs we brought back from our vacation were shells, and hotel swag….a tote bag, playing cards, corkscrew, coffee, and toiletries.
2. On the way home from our trip we did not stop for a meal. It was almost a 6 hour trip, but we had a big breakfast and I had some granola bars with me so although we thought about stopping, we held out until we got home.
3. Grilled cheese sandwiches for late lunch as soon as we unpacked the car.
4. Dinner was chili dogs with a green salad. Quick and easy …not very gourmet, but still delicious.
5. Found leftover fried rice in the refrigerator and ate that for breakfast this morning. File that under Use It or Lose It.

When we moved up here, we opted to keep the same dentist/doctors we had in our previous town, despite it being a 250 mile trip each way. So my 5 (or more) frugal things will revolve around our over-nighter to get our teeth cleaned. Yes, we do lead exciting lives up here, too:

1. Made a meat loaf the day before, so we could have meatloaf sandwiches for our lunches on the way down and on the way back. I LOVE meatloaf sandwiches so bypassing fast food restaurants was no sacrifice for me – or my husband.
2. Our dentist offers a very nice discount if we pay in full at the time of service. We opted not to continue our dental insurance after we retired, since the premiums alone cost more than two annual cleanings and check-ups for both of us. I’ve never needed fillings or crowns, and my husband…we won’t talk about last year’s dental implant (which would not have been covered by insurance anyway) but other than that, he normally only needs cleanings, too.
3. Had to stay in a hotel this time, but got the AARP discount – and stayed at the hotel chain where we get an automatic room upgrade. And that upgraded room was HUGE.
4. Took advantage of being in the big city to visit family, run other errands, and to meet friends for dinner. While some of my posts may sound like we never go out for dinner, we actually do. In the 6 years we’ve lived up here, I have yet to find good pizza or Thai food – any kind of Thai food. Having lived in the city for many years prior, we know where the good stuff is. Great food, great company – a wonderful night, totally worth the money spent.
5. Since we wanted to go to a big farmers market that didn’t open until noon the next day, I spent a couple of hours in the hotel room that morning, drinking free coffee, eating free waffles with peanut butter, and earning lots of points on swagbucks. I’d stopped doing swagbucks for a number of months, but lately have been hearing Katy’s voice (in my head) saying “Free money, people!” Free money is a very good thing.
6. Filled the gas tank at Costco before leaving – for 31 cents per gallon less than we pay at home.
7. Got home around dinner time, and had wonderful Thai leftovers from the previous night.

Glad to know we are not the only crazy ones. Moved from MD to SC four years ago and still go back to our old dentist. I am dentalphobic so it is worth it for me. Plus my sister and Mom live only a few miles from my dentist so I can stay with my sister. Also visit the grandchildren and friends. So we do it all in one shot.

A good dentist is priceless! We’ve been going to our current dentist for at least 25 years (we’re the same age, but unlike us she didn’t retire early, thank heavens!) and she’s absolutely amazing – as are her dental hygienists. Fortunately my husband and I each bonded with a different hygienist over the years, so we can get simultaneous appointments now. And like you, Norma, we have family and friends in the city, so yes- all in one shot!

I am not a fan of going to the dentist in general, but I have finally accepted my dentist. My only complaint is that he is exactly my age — which means he will retire eventually, and I will have to find a new dentist!

My sister kept the dentist we had in high school, through a number of moves, including a move from California to Texas! You’re not alone in traveling to your dentist.

1. I picked up a few things at Meijer including two boxes of my hair dye. I was able to get $6 off with mperks coupons and another $3 off in rewards on my next trip.
2. My husband, I and my daughter went to dinner with my Mom after visiting for a while with an old friend. I used a restaurant.com certificate and my husband and I drank water.
3. Instead of going to movie at the theater as we had planned, we went home and watched a movie on Netflix .
4. We just finished closing our pool this morning. This will save on the electric bill and pool chemicals. Many of our pool tubes have sprung leaks. We had a few extra given to us by my husband coworker. We needed a couple more but instead of buying them I bundled two up since they are double sided and most only have leaks on one side. I save the rest to see if I can repair them.
5. We are having a lunch of grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup that I made yesterday using the last of the tomatoes that I had planted.

Not much out of the ordinary but here are a few that I can think of.
1. We had been trying to decide what kind of mulch to put in our small patio flower beds and then the wind came up, the pine needles came down and we said “pine straw”. Free and makes sweeping up easy.
2. Put together a Fall capsule wardrobe and don’t see any shopping needs.
3. Not frugal for us but it is for our son and DIL – we are keeping their dog for 3 weeks while they go on a trip to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Glad we can do it and he is a nice dog.

I feel ya on the continuing Ed., Katy….it is never ending for lawyers also.. on the bright side, I usually can get it free. Hurricane Nate (actually Tropical storm by the time it reached me) came to visit and was very nice in not knocking out my power…thank you! 1. In anticipation of his visit, I made homemade no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies (and avoided the $4 price tag on Halloween candy at the DG)….yikes! 2. I made homemade tomato soup with leftover canned milk, tomato paste, and leftover tomatoes..it was delicious. I paired it with cheese toast made from leftover bread. 3. I saw a video, when one of the earlier hurricanes hit Florida, of a person taking advantage of the free water and blowing action, to wash her automobile out in the rain…yup….I did it…..lol. There was no thunder nor lightning action going on, because I would have stayed inside if that were the case. I now have a very spiffed up, clean car. 4. I took a nap. I love rainy, stormy weather, as long as nothing breaks and I do not lose power. 5. I am reading a bunch of books that I bought at thrift stores for 10 cents a piece!

1-cut the younger teens hair, he is not fussy and prefers a buzz cut every so often so it saved 20.00 from the place he and his brother usually go.
2-used grocery store points to pay for 30.00 of groceries today.
3- cleaned and froze another huge batch of kale, we should be set for winter. We celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend in Canada so I am taking a gift of kale to share with my sister in love and her DIL. It will be much appreciated.
4- used my gas card points to buy a discount card for 10 cents off 200 L of fuel
5-still line drying our clothes, fall is slow to arrive this year, but I am not complaining.

1) My daughter was home for a wedding over a long 4-day weekend. Although most of her time was spent doing “wedding stuff, ” we had a little time together. She wanted go thrifting. We had good luck . She found several pieces of clothing, a Halloween costume, and a beautiful lamp for her desk. I bought two new running bras with the tags still on for just $6 each. Retail on these are $46 each, so I was thrilled. I also bought some items for resale.

2) I had changed insurance carriers for both my home and auto. I received a refund check today. I am now eligible for a multi line discount saving another $15 a month. Yippee! I also received my new homeowners policy in the mail. I am reading through it. I don’t like surprises.

3) Entertainment continues to be free or nearly free. DH had a hot date at the gym on Friday night. I am reading 2 books – one from the library and one given to me by a friend. We watched a mystery that we streamed on my PBS app. We went to the beach yesterday and attend an oyster roast. There is always something to do.

4) My daughter has a consignment shop near her that will give her cash for clothes. Since there is not a store such as this near me, I gave her several nice items of mine that I have not been wearing. I hope that she can get a little money for them. I told her to keep whatever she was able to get for them.

5) I have my little side hustle tomorrow. I sold an item on eBay. I bought a $50 gas card for $40. I am planning simple meals. Drinking water. Walking the dog. Nothing exciting, but boring can be good.

We got lots of great deals at the yardsale that crossed three states. However, we really only made it through about 3 small towns! There were so many we were stopping every couple of miles for the whole day!

1. I guess my favorite find was a super cute headboard that I had to stuff in my mom’s car for $10. It’s bright pink wicker with lots of curly details on it. It’s prefect for my daughter’s room. I will paint it black when she gets older for a more grown up look.
2. While we were driving down the road a man came speeding by us with a trailer that was loaded down with stuff. Suddenly, one of those big wedge pillows that you use to elevate your upper body while you sleep, flew out of his trailer and onto the highway. Yes, I did pull off the side of the road and risk my life to grab that wedge. My mom’s boyfriend has severe reflux and I had suggested he buy one a few months ago. It has a nice removable, zip cover over it so it’s super easy to clean. I planned to give it back to the man in the truck but we never saw him again.
3. There was a large window that had cool looking, chippy paint all over that said “free” on it. So I loaded that up in the car, also. I am redoing my kids room so it will be perfect with one of my girls name painted in the middle of it.
4. I spent $10 on a North face jacket for my daughter that was in perfect condition. A little more than I would usually spend but since two of my kids will get wear out of it, I felt that it was a super good deal. I found so many deals that are too numerous to mention. I took $100, plus a coin purse with some change in it, with me and I came home with $45. So I think I did pretty well for the huge pile of carefully thought out goodies I brought home.
5. My husband went to the grocery store this morning and came home with 8 packages of reduced ground beef. All eight packages were only a total of $11.58! I separated them all out into meal sized portions to freeze and we should get exactly 10 meals from those. I was able to repurpose some of the packaging they came in so that’s an extra win for frugality and the environment. That’s $1.16 per meal! I’m proud of him for even thinking to look in the reduced section without me being there.

Oh, Katy, I know the challenges of continuing education myself….as a registered dietitian, I have CE requirements, too, and I try to take advantage of freebies whenever possible. Plus, the hospital where I work is having a big push towards “teaching”/enforcing patient satisfaction by requiring attendance at lectures that tell you how to act. After 30 years, if I don’t know how to smile and be polite and helpful, I need to find a new job! (Major eyeball roll)
My FFT:
1) Food Service Appreciation Week was last week, and our Chef Manager provided abundant free lunchs for staff. Brought home Cincinnati-style chili for hubby one day (he loves it, I do not), had free lunches and/or brought lunch home for dinner.
2) Celebrated my mother in law’s 86th birthday with a meal at her home. It was a group effort – we supplied the side dishes, including a copy-cat version of Cracker Barrel’s hash brown casserole. I had to buy frozen hash browns (store brand, on sale) but the other ingredients I had on hand. Had a great time catching up with MIL, sister in law & bro in law.
3) Found a coupon on the floor at Krogers for Siggi’s yogurt, which I like, though is a bit pricey. Any savings are appreciated when I treat myself.
4) Have been working on Swagbucks, slowly but steadily. Aiming for gathering 100 SB a day, if I get more, even better.
5) Eating up the Go-Gurts (and store brand tube yogurts) my son has decided he doesn’t want anymore. I mix it with plain Greek yogurt (cuts down on the overpowering sweetness), add in fresh berries and granola. Yummy treat while watching tv at night.
Bonus #6: received a sizable check related to a class action settlement that I was, apparently, a part of. I think it was related to a home mortgage taken out many years ago, as it was in my maiden name. Promptly cashed and put into savings – it will pay for my MRI done earlier this week, and then some.
Frugal fail: hubs and I both failed to cancel my 30-day free trial of Lynda.com, so we were charged $34.99 for the next month. I did cancel my subscription, but cannot get a refund, so hubs and I will both look at their offerings to hopefully update some skills (I see they have something about photography, so maybe not a total fail!).
Did all my usuals….made coffee at home, used up leftovers, and did not buy a gold plated Lear jet, hard as that was to resist.

One of the things that frosts my flakes is the idea that hospitals and other health care facilities are reimbursed based on patient satisfaction scores. Sometimes, as nurses (and other care providers), the things that we HAVE to do to help our patients heal are not necessarily pleasant experiences for the patient at the time. We can do all the medicating, relaxation techniques, distraction, and just plain good mannerly behavior, and STILL get a bad review from a patient that didn’t enjoy his wound debridement! That doesn’t mean we aren’t doing a great job, and helping the patient to heal faster and return to normal life, so why are we penalized if someone didn’t understand, despite repeated teaching? One of the frustrations that led me to take early retirement when a good buyout package was offered to those of us who had been there long enough to cost them more money in salary (not taking into consideration how much mentoring and protecting from their own errors we did for the new grads/baby nurses). Don’t get me wrong, I liked teaching and mentoring new nurses. But, with all the changes in the corporate mindset, I went from thinking that I’d probably still be happily working in the career that I loved at 70+ years, to being happy to get out at 54. Thankfully, a frugal lifestyle made it possible for me to take that retirement package and 4 years later, I’m still thoroughly enjoying my retirement!

I am so in agreement with your frustration in nursing! No good deals for me, so I’m hanging in there part-time for a few more years, but I would love to hear more about frugal (early) retirement strategies. Do you have any special tips?

All the things you read about here are what got me to the point where I could take the offer. I paid extra on my mortgage every single month, and every time I eliminated another debt or expense, I threw that money at my mortgage. I had no savings 11 years before retiring, but when I went to work at the hospital (I’d worked extended Care before that), I took full advantage of the employee match for a 403-b, and put more into a Roth IRA. Every time I got a raise, I put more into those accounts. I don’t have a million in retirement funds, like financial advisors seem to think you need. I do have enough that I can live frugally on the gains in my fund without having to touch the base amount I started with. I will start drawing SS in 4 years, at 62. I should be able to live on SS with $ leftover so at that point, I can let my retirement fund grow. Those were the bigger things I did or am doing. I do all the little things that I can, too. I pick up pennies, bargain shop, and about the only clothing I buy new are underwear and socks. I buy in bulk when there’s a good sale on food items that store well and that we eat. I buy a lot of things at Costco, but only if it’s a better buy there than I can get elsewhere, and I don’t have a Costco card. I go with friends who do. I buy items for resale at the bins, as well as buying most of my clothes there. Shop WinCo, Grocery Outlet, and Dollar Tree for food, dog and cat food, and hair stuff. I cut my own hair. I cut my own firewood. Mostly, I have a mindset of looking at things and trying to figure out if I can use it, fix it or repurpose them .

We got lots of great deals at the yardsale that crossed three states. However, we really only made it through about 3 small towns! There were so many we were stopping every couple of miles for the whole day!

1. I guess my favorite find was a super cute headboard that I had to stuff in my mom’s car for $10. It’s bright pink wicker with lots of curly details on it. It’s prefect for my daughter’s room. I will paint it black when she gets older for a more grown up look.
2. While we were driving down the road a man came speeding by us with a trailer that was loaded down with stuff. Suddenly, one of those big wedge pillows that you use to elevate your upper body while you sleep, flew out of his trailer and onto the highway. Yes, I did pull off the side of the road and risk my life to grab that wedge. My mom’s boyfriend has severe reflux and I had suggested he buy one a few months ago. It has a nice removable, zip cover over it so it’s super easy to clean. I planned to give it back to the man in the truck but we never saw him again.
3. So there was a large window that had cool looking, chippy paint all over that said “free” on it. So I loaded that up in the car, also. I am redoing my kids room so it will be perfect with one of my girls name painted in the middle of it.
4. I spent $10 on a North face jacket for my daughter that was in perfect condition. A little more that I would usually spend but since two of my kids will get wear out of it, I felt that it was a super good deal. I found so many deals that are too numerous to mention. I took $100, plus a coin purse with some change in it, with me and I came home with $45. So I think I did pretty well for the huge pile of carefully thought out goodies I brought home.
5. My husband went to the grocery store this morning and came home with 8 packages of reduced ground beef. All eight packages were only a total of $11.58! I separated them all out into meal sized portions to freeze and we should get exactly 10 meals from those. I was able to repurpose some of the packaging they came in so that’s an extra win for frugality and the environment. That’s $1.16 per meal! I’m proud of him for even thinking to look in the reduced section without me being there.

1. Cut husband’s hair.
2. Husband cut the hair on both of our dogs. It costs us $170 (Yup, 1-7-0) to get both of them cut because they are giant breed dogs, so finally learned how to do it ourselves. We will still take them once a year, in early summer, to get all their hair cut off, but the rest of the year it is just trims and we can mange those ourselves.
3. Had milk about to expire, 3 potatoes looking grim, an onion on its last legs and a dozen mushrooms that were languishing. I used two cans of tuna and made tuna chowder that was a huge hit with the husband and me.
4. Hung out our last load of laundry for the season. It is supposed to snow tonight (raining already) and stay below freezing at night from now on.
5. We have a van that supports my wheelchair when I need it and a truck we use for hauling soil and so on. Put the truck in storage for the winter, which means about a $300 refund on insurance.
6. Bugged, bugged and bugged the insurance company and finally got $85 they owed us.
7. Needed some final yardwork done, about three hours of hard dirt work. Asked the nephew, offered to pay him…he asked that instead I do his laundry and iron his work shirts for him. I did so and threw in two dozen fresh chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies that he loves. We were both happy!

1. making “clean out the fridge soup”. Wound up with a veg base soup with all the odds and ends from the vegetable drawer. Also diced tomatoes, sliced sausages, frozen spinach and white beans. YUM!
2. Hung all the laundry ( 2 big loads). Final round drying on the line in the garage as it gets dewy at night.
3. Went to Target to buy big bunch of Toilet paper. Bought nothing else!
4. Practicing going 2 weeks with minimal grocery shopping. have only spent $30 since Oct 1.
5. Working on eating down freezer and fridge to take advantage of our back stock. Showing a real dent in both and eating very well!
6. Went to thrift store, bought nothing! Didn’t see anything I needed.

Nothing special accomplished this week. One day I had an almost all day doctor appt, but I stopped and bought groceries on the way home. We ate leftovers that night for dinner–so none of my usual “Thursday” tasks went undone. There were delays, so I didn’t have time for lunch or even a cold drink between appointments. I cooked every night except last night when we went to a family birthday party where dinner was provided. I had to shop one day for the birthday gift–it didn’t take ALL day but I did have to go about 40 minutes from home, after shopping the ONE store in town. (I don’t count Walmart because I go there very reluctantly if ever.) In the other three days, I managed to get some laundry done, very little cleaning, and cooking and stuff. Just not enough time in my day for all these darn doctor appts. I have to see the dentist tomorrow, too. Unfortunately, with the results of this week’s tests there are more dr appts in my future. I have peripheral artery disease, which got me three stents about 11 years ago, and possibly may get me one more. The first three allowed better flood flow into my legs–now my left arm is in trouble. An angiogram will tell us how much trouble. Happy thoughts appreciated–the condition itself can cause strokes, and so can the treatment!! Kind of caught in the middle, aren’t I?

Wishing you the very best possible outcome, Marcia. May I suggest exploring the resources at nutritionfacts.org? (All of the videos and blog posts are free, by the way, and all are evidence-based. Yay for science!) You can do a search on your condition and probably find several helpful pieces. Good luck. {{{}}}

1. Used Kohl’s cash to get part of my Halloween costume for free. (Elven hunter) Said costume is made up of new clothing items that I’ll actually wear this fall, so I’m counting this as a win. Plus my kids think I’m cool now.

2. Cleaned out the freezer and fridge and made my grocery list accordingly. Always feels good to cross something off the list before going, after finding some hidden in the freezer. Also used the weekly sales flier to plan meals.

3. Went for a run in my neighborhood (counting this as a FT because we used to drive to a track, before discovering the park near us is pretty empty early in the mornings, perfect for running). Free endorphins and exercise.

4. Used the library to request books for homeschooling and leisure reading, little bummed they’re closed tomorrow so I can’t pick up all my goodies that are on hold but they’ll wait.

5. Returned a rental car–DH and the kids washed it first and the lady said when we returned it half an hour late she said it looked better than when it went out, and didn’t charge us.

1. I was running out of checks for my checkbook so I ordered new ones from my credit union. I got the free (plain!) ones, like always.

2. Ordered my daughter’s high school yearbook. Those things are expensive! I ordered it on the last possible day that had the cheapest price. I checked the yearbook website the next day just for fun, and the price was $10 higher.

3. Signed my son up for basketball, which he’s played every year for several years now, within the early-bird discount timeframe. There’s a $20 difference in price between early-bird and regular registration.

4. My grocery store now carries store brand coffee filters – cheaper and they work just as well!

5. Since fall is here I’ve been working more, which brings a little extra money in. So very thankful I love my job. I haven’t been posting as much since I’ve been a little busier, but I still always enjoy reading all the comments … about who’s doing what, both money-saving-wise and life-events-wise. 🙂

1. Trying to not waste food and not spend too much on groceries — did a relatively cheap shop for the coming week ($65) and prepped food this weekend so won’t be tempted to eat out. Made chili from dried beans and 1/2 price hamburger using up some tomatoes, peppers and onions that were teetering on the brink. Also thawed some chicken breasts and prepped two other dinners that will feature broccoli that needs to be used in next few days.
2. Wore cute (IMHO) thrifted clothes all weekend.
3. Did NOT stop at Goodwill just to check it out, don’t need anything and don’t want to spend money right now.
4. My in laws generously took us out to eat after church, very thoughtful of them and no cost for us!
5. Spent the weekend otherwise doing low to no cost things — laundry, cooking, DD’s volleyball game, reading library books, yoga class (we belong to a club that has yoga at no extra cost), hike with friends.

1. I walked up to the library book sale as soon as it opened on Saturday morning. Good thing I did, as there was a already a line of people of waitingto get in. I bought a cookbook and a nice hardback trilogy to resell, and a stack of youth and picture books to keep.
2. Went to two estate sales on my lunch hour on Friday. I only bought a rake for $3 and two Tupperware containers for 50 cents each. I debated buying the entire set of Tupperware to resell, but I didn’t think it would be worth the trouble.
3. Sold the Simplehuman trash can and stained glass lamp that I had bought at a yard sale. Sold a wooden pull toy on ebay.
4. Got a few new listings up on ebay. I’m always excited to buy items to list, but a little slower at actually listing them.
5. Raked the leaves, picked up black walnuts, vacuumed the house, made a batch of cookies. The weekend went by so fast.

1. Mended my most versatile sweater, the one I wear all the time. It was starting to come apart at the neck.
2. Ate left overs that we froze before we went out of town.
3. Successfully trained my husband to get e books from the library instead of buying. This is a big one. Now that he is retired and we are living in the same house, he has gotten his own library card and is making good use of it.
4. Can’t think of anything special. I am just continuing to do the things I do every day: wear thrifted clothing, wash and reuse plastic ziplock bags, use the library for books and movies, plan menus, check Goodwill first when I need to make a purchase, eat left overs. Sometimes I stress over unnecessary spending we do, like too many trips and too much eating out. We certainly could do better. Then I look at the crowds at the mall as we drive past and think that we could do much worse also.

1. Couldn’t figure out how to get my teen son to eat the last of the endless leftovers from Thursday. Brilliant husband, “Hey, mama and I are going to have eggs for dinner, so you can have the ham and potato thing.” Son HATES eggs, so it was brilliantly played by husband.
2. Went to a dinner last night and several centerpiece winners didn’t take theirs. We were there long after most people had left and were told by the organizers to take several. Two free houseplants for me!
3. Husband also noticed lots of leftover desserts and grabbed 3 ricotta cookies for me. Second breakfast this morning was delightful!
4. Mentioned to some friends yesterday that we needed a pair of black shoes for son for a couple events and with hardly another word she was on the phone and had her wife walk over a pair of shoes her son had worn only once. They’re a little big, but they’re fine for wearing at dressy events with his suit, also a hand-me-down.
5. Really wanted a glass of wine the other day but have been doing really well all year not spending money on alcohol. Remembered a relative gave us several bottles of wine when he downsized. The only bottle I’d opened so far was hideous, so I’d sort of forgotten about them. Decided it was worth a shot, opened a bottle, and actually liked it.

FFT:
1. Dh cut his own hair today.
2. Last night we went out to dinner (which was awful and not worth it at all) and after ordering I picked up the two pennies that were on the counter.
3. My daughter went to the movies and used one of my discount coupons. Her and I will go this week to see Victoria and Abdul and use the remainder of the coupons. The coupons – from Costco – used to be $8.50 each and now they are up to $10. Redbox or library dvds from now on!
4. I’m going to start watching a historical drama on PBS tonight.
5. Daughter cooked two times this past week using the crock pot.
6. Hubby’s life insurance company sent him a letter that looked like a renewal to me. I called and started checking out new policies. He finally got around to calling his insurance and we are good til 2021 and we may not need his life insurance by then.

1. Watched Bad Moms for free from the library, it had its moments, glad I didn’t pay to rent it. Also finished a library book.
2.Fixed/sewed my read in bed pillow, the arm seam ripped out, had it since college!
3. Used coupons for dinner tonight-B1G1 salted caramel pumpkin pie concrete mixers! Culver’s is da best!
4.Watched Pet Cemetery on Amazon Prime this weekend with teenage daughter, she didn’t think it was scary. Told her to read the book, much scarier.
5. Water bill went down by $30, pretty good for summer. 🙂

1. Got a check for my state tax. I guess I overpaid my estimated taxes.
2. Eating from the freezer.
3. Had family over for brunch and used some things from the freezer.
4. My aunt and uncle brought me a mirror they had in their home but moved and don’t need it in their new place. It is beautiful and was my great grandparents.
5. Went in the city to see a musical. I found street parking and paid only $6 for the meter instead of $25 for parking garage. I went out at intermission to put more quarters in.

1. We spent almost the entire weekend outside in the Spring sunshine, doing yard work. We got a lot of healthy exercise and I taught my youngest how to propagate plants. I’m trying to propagate new African Violets from the plants that belonged to my grandmother, as a gift for my mother and aunt. My grandmother loved African violets and it has been so lovely to have these in my house to remember her. I think of her every time I see them.
2. I planted seeds from the seeds I saved last year: chillies, tomatoes, capsicum (peppers), and garlic chives. I’ll be excited to see what’s viable.
3. I made fresh pesto from parsley and oregano from the garden and some sorrel my neighbor gave me, and served it over pasta with tomatoes that needed to be used, and a salad of fresh vegetables that included the last of our delicious homegrown carrots.
4. I took leftover pasta and homegrown carrots for lunch today and it was all very delicious.
5. I used a 15% off coupon to order some frozen dinners and lunches. Doesn’t seem frugal but my daughter will pay half, and together with the discount it means that we will both have some low cost, low calorie convenience meals when needed for work. I often work late and when I don’t have time to prepare in advance these are cheaper than takeaway in the expensive suburb I work in. This brand is good.

I hosted a “meet and greet” for a candidate running for a local office in our township. I spent 2 days getting my house up to ‘stranger’ cleanliness level. 2 friends made homemade treats and I borrowed carafes from church for coffee. We had a great turnout and a great discussion about local politics!

1. The orchids I rescued from a friend who buys them and then tosses them when they stop flowering are growing new leaves – hopefully they will flower again!
2. Helped set up and clean up for a church event and scored an almost full bag of kettle chips, a veggie tray, a thing of yogurt fruit dip, a bag of donuts, and a pizza. Took the pizza, a pumpkin from the event, and a bottle of Arnold Palmer from Dollar Tree to my daughter’s house to bless her at the end of a brutal couple of weeks at home and work.
3. Went shopping at Target with a friend who needed to buy some trouser socks for a new pair of shoes for a funeral and didn’t buy anything!
4. Bought a gift card from a friend who needed the cash, which I will use fo Xmas shopping later.
5. Read my way through several book series from the library and am starting a new one. Love our library!!

1. My wonderful neighbor gave me 3 green peppers from her garden. Chopped them and put in the freezer. I will use them in red beans and rice when it gets cold.
2. Found boxes of tea marked down to $1.49 at the store. Bought 2 and realized later I had $1 coupons for them. Took the receipt and the coupons to the store today when I was going by and got $2 refunded. Also, found a silver 1964 quarter in the Coinstar when I was there.
3. Deep cleaned the inside of my car and cleaned out the trunk. I’ll wash it on Tuesday when it’s supposed to be 80°.
4. Cleaned and straightened my linen closet to pull out supplies for #5. Also took inventory of Christmas gifts I’ve already bought.
5. A church friend had a Goodie Box Swap for the moms with college kids. Nine moms came to make boxes for 16 kids so we were to bring 16 of what we were putting in the boxes and we also brought an appetizer to share. I made up cold & flu kits- tissues, a freeze pop, assorted tea bags, an apple juice box and fuzzy socks for the girls or cup of noodles for the boys. Only had to buy the cup of noodles and juice boxes as I had everything else. The socks I had gotten for 25¢/pr. at the end of winter, the tissues free with Staples rewards awhile ago and freeze pops from summer clearance. I put each kit in cello bags, from a box of them that I got on Freecycle years ago, and tied with ribbon I had. Made tags with my die-cut machine from scrap cardstock. Everyone loved them and I figured they cost me about 60¢ each to make. We had a great time and I now have a full box of assorted goodies to ship to DS#2.

1. Made dessert from supplies on hand to take to Sunday dinner at daughter’s.
2. According to my latest library tab slip, I’ve saved $489 by using the library this year.
3. Hubs is doing tune up on the car himself this week before we take it on a trip. I love that he can do stuff like that.
4. We are borrowing a Yeti cooler for the trip from s-i-l, a firm believer in their superiority. I’m just glad we can borrow it, because no way would we drop $$$ on one ourselves.
5. After going two or three years without a haircut, I decided to go short again, and told my stylist I didn’t want to have to come back as often as I used to in ‘the old days.’ It’s been nine weeks since my cut, and it still looks fine, so I decided I didn’t need to go again before the trip. Today I washed it and let it air dry, and it looks as good as it does when I blow it dry. Easy and a style that doesn’t need frequent trims/maintenance is pretty frugal. A stylist that can and will give me that is priceless.

1. Our neighborhood had it’s annual fall yard sale on Saturday. We walked around but didn’t buy anything. It was social and we got exercise.

2. My husband put air in our bike tires and we took a bike ride. The first of the year but better late than never.

3. All meals at home this weekend. I’m also trying to winnow down the amount of food in the freezer so even less grocery shopping than usual.

4. I needed to make a bunch of baked goods for a treat basket. I baked both snicker doodle and ginger snap cookies. Easy, delicious, and (relatively) cheap. The price of vanilla is painful as is the price of butter. I’ve been using what I have.

1. Saturday, I spent the entire day at home – which meant no temptation to stop for treats or purchased meals while out.

2. I’m interested in seeing the new “Blade Runner 2049” film, but had never seen the original. I’d been planning to rent it online, but decided on a whim to check the TV schedule. That was a great instinct to follow, as one of the sci-fi channels was showing it on Saturday afternoon. Granted, it was edited for content; but I’m okay with that.

3. Sunday afternoon, I was hungrier than expected after a yoga training; so I stopped at a sandwich shop. Yes, I spent money; but I only bought the sandwich (knowing I had chips at home), and it was just late enough in the day that I only ate half the sandwich. The rest will be part of my lunch today.

4. As I prepare to move to another state at the beginning of next month, I’m trying really hard to use up everything in the cupboard and freezer. So the grocery list I wrote up last night is minimal – mostly fresh fruit and veggies.

5. Our apartment property’s pro-rated rent policy for moving out once the month has started is definitely not tenant-friendly. So rather than pay a whole bunch of money for only a few days of staying there in November, I bucked up and reached out to friends in the area, to see who might be willing to let me stay for a few days.

Bonus – as I’ve been packing, I’ve been really, really good about filtering and setting things aside for donation to Salvation Army. So far, we’ve taken three large boxes; and I have another two that are ready to drop off. Less to move, less to worry about!

Great find with that coupon. 🙂 I also like to freeze wrinkly peppers and use them when I make homemade veggie stock.

This week:

1. I finally finished our tire chair. We saved a tire from a neighbor’s trash pile and converted it into a cushy meditation pouf.

2. I used some of my pre-cooked pumpkin to make pumpkin rolls and pumpkin muffins. I froze everything to eat for later.

3. My flip flops are on their last leg (in our part of the country, we’re able to wear flip flops all year round). I was about to buy my customary $10 pair at Payless, but instead I went to REI. I tried on some sandals and fell in love with a high-quality Okulai pair for $65. They didn’t have the color I wanted, so I ordered online. I didn’t get them cheaper than $65 (you better believe I scoured for online coupons), but I’m satisfied to get a better quality product that will last longer.

4. I swung by Dollar Tree and spent $10 on supplies to make a Christmas wreath. We’re now set on decorations for the holiday season!

5. Our dishwasher was kinda funky, so I ran an empty cycle with one cup of vinegar. Cleaned it up like a charm!

concerning your #3, have you ever tried Clarks flip flops? I scored a pair for $35 which i thought was pricy, but they’re well-made & super comfy. I have a foot problem & i love these flip flops. I can’t wear cheap ones.

1. I stayed away from the big three state yard sale this past weekend. I don’t need to be dragging anything home right now.

2. Continued the kitchen cabinets clean out. Threw away the chipped Teflon pans. Those are so unhealthy when chipped and if I won’t use them I don’t want anyone else to get sick. Sent two nice stainless pans home with my daughter.

3. We save our change in an old spaghetti jar. I cashed in $75 dollars plus an $11 dollar check into my sons savings account.

4. Hit up Kroger for my Friday freebies and only purchased sale items on my list that had coupons.

5. Kind of a mixed frugal yeah/fail. Blew up the microwave on Thursday morning right in the middle of making lunch for school and getting breakfast ready. We use it multiple times per day. At 20 years old it was due to die. Made a trip to Lowes for end of season clearance. Found a floor model marked down from $400 to $250. Just what we were looking for re size, color, features. Has a couple of scratches but I don’t care. Sold.

1. Shopped for Christmas gifts on my credit union’s reward points site. Got some movie tickets I’ll pair with movie candy.
2. Meal planned. Amazing how much time/hassle/money it saves me.
3. Got a new job and when I gave my 2 week notice, my old boss asked me to stay on as needed on a greatly reduced hourly schedule. Good and bad, as I may get overwhelmed.
4. Worked 3.25 hours at home yesterday.
5. Made more laundry detergent, made sure to turn air up when I left, made sure all lights/fans were off when I left home, and used my Shell savings card to get .05 off a gallon when I filled up.

1. Had dinner at my sister-in-law’s house Saturday night. We brought dessert, made from things in the pantry, and she made a yummy dinner that took into account our many dietary constraints. I made butterscotch cream pie (with homemade brown sugar) and almond poppy seed crazy cake, which were both hits.
2. We brought a picnic lunch to Maker Fair, where my son was showing his model of Sputnik. It was 60 years ago last week since Sputnik was launched!
3. Filled up the truck with gas at Costco before bringing a bunch of merchandise up to my mom’s house — and the store.
4. Bought super-yummy tacos for lunch at my mom’s, but ate them at her house so we didn’t need to buy drinks.
5. Mom made dinner for all of us, including my sister and the cousins.

1. Littlest and her dad came home this weekend. She was able to invite a raft of friends over for dinner and board games, and we bought only French bread – everything else was made with items on hand.
2. The time to replace the car(s) has come. Ugh. Spent all day yesterday looking. Found a sales guy we liked and who was helpful and non-pushy. A manager called him off and sent someone else to work with us. Sales guy #2 was like the worst caricature of a used car salesman. We complained – nicely – to a manager (it’s miles of linked dealerships, so there are lots) with detailed examples of what we didn’t like about sales guy #2, so he found sales guy #1 and we rapidly came to an agreement on a car and a price that work for us, plus some free maintenance thrown in for our trouble. Frugal because frankly, walking off the lot and starting over somewhere else would have been more expensive and cost us yet MORE time.
3. Not frugal for me, but for oldest daughter: she has a job interview by phone today. The job is at a university in the middle of nowhere, and (unlike in the old days when I was applying to academic jobs) the first round of interviews does not require her to travel. Fingers crossed it goes well!
4. Ordered oil for our furnace last week when the temps threatened to go below freezing, and accidentally got a great per-gallon price. Didn’t pay the extra to have them restart the furnace, either, knowing hubs could do it this weekend. We try to keep it off until Halloween, but both daughters have bad colds and were miserable, even in layers. Even if we keep the temp low (generally about 65-68), the warmth in the floors where the ducts run underneath is glorious because oil burns so hot. I work in renewable energy so it’s a bit of a shameful secret how much I love our oil furnace . . . I consider it frugal not to spend the thousands it would take to replace it, plus we keep it clean and have a high-efficiency burner.

Frugal fail: After 8 weeks of packing and sorting, I’ve come to the realization that there is no way I’ll get the house on the market this month without help. Cleaning service is coming tomorrow. I’m expecting 5-7 hours of a 3-person crew, which will not be cheap. But comparing that cost to the cost of maintaining two households for an additional six months (there’s no selling once the snow flies up here) seems worth it.

1. Watched a how-to video on YouTube, bought headliner fabric for $4 and recovered my 20-year-old car visors. Not perfect but what a savings! And I did it while watching TV, making it more interesting. FYI: don’t use super glue for this kind of thing :-(.
2. Spent but saved: Found 3 bottles of wine marked down to $5.99. Bought one because, well, it looked nice. The clerk told me it was marked down because they’ve stopped carrying it. Went home and looked it up on line: Lowest price $66, highest $199!!! Went right back and bought the other two bottles. Will gift or drink with company… Good deal, eh? (Even though I’m not a drinker!)
3. Ate home-cooked food as usual.
4. Washed my own car.
5. Committed to doing something each day to fix the little things around the house that are bugging me (in place of big things that I cannot afford to do right now). Allowed myself to understand that even small things count. One day at a time.

Katy, how do you decide what to give away on Buy Nothing instead of selling?

A frugal thing:

I helped organize a Fix It Clinic/ Repair Cafe for work. I brought my hand me down Bose noise canceling headphones. Turns out it needed a new battery (Oops). The foam on the earpieces was a mess. Some of the fixers suggested buying a replacement part on ebay but one of the seamstresses and I were able to stitch back together – looks as good as new (if you don’t look too closely). Money saved and one less small piece of trash!

Things like duplicate household items that would be useful to someone else or clothing always get put on the Buy Nothing group, as they don’t hold significant value, yet would be useful for someone else.